


Dreamcatcher

by Little_Dragon_Writes



Series: Lumos - one shots & short stories [2]
Category: (from my Voltron fanfic), Scarlet Kaida
Genre: F/M, ME - Freeform, but fluff, caring captain, enjoy the fluff while it lasts, i wrote fluff guys, merryn is watching, oblivious dorks, pining boy, small talk under the stars in the middle of the night
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 20:18:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14386341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Dragon_Writes/pseuds/Little_Dragon_Writes
Summary: A small fluff prompt i was requested on tumblr for my two babies:(Fluff prompt: person A is dead tired from work or whatever and collapses onto person B’s lap, resting their head in person B’s lap, complaining about how exhausted they are. Person B begins to play with their hair and/or singing, making person A relax and fall asleep. Then, person B kisses person A’s forehead.





	1. PART 1 (Lucy pov)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PookElucy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PookElucy/gifts).



> Two parts because it got out of hand and i still haven't written the smol part 3 that is meant to be the day after that small night

Lucy blew away the steam escaping from her burning mug, enjoying the warmth of the porcelain in her palms. This was her favorite moment of the day, and recently… it had been awhile since she had last allowed herself this moment by the window, staring into the emptiness of space behind the glass.

It was soothing, relaxing, and she could let her thoughts drift away. She could allow herself to breathe and think of something else.

She could try anyway.

Even if it wasn’t quite night time yet, most of her crew was already back in their rooms and searching for sleep. They were all exhausted, and she herself had one and only want and it was to rest. Her canceled meeting with Kolivan had allowed her some free time at the children’s bay and she had been able to put the children to sleep.

_Just like in the old times._

Makara had been surprised to see her there at first - it had been a while after all, but the children had jumped from their bed to ask her to read a story. And she had obliged, taking back an old book from the shelves - not without a little scold in their direction: well behaved children didn’t act like that, no matter their space pirate status.

Even after the three months that had gone by, the book had remained where she had left it. Once they were all settled back under their sheets, she had started reading a new chapter. Some normality in the chaos that had become her life felt great sometimes.

She smiled, remembering the smiles of the kids and their will to stay awake even with their head dropping on their pillows. As always, Sammy had been the last one to give up, Little Tara cradled in his arms. Lucy hadn’t had the courage to split them up and had left the room, leaving one last kiss on their heads.

She had always loved that time with the children, and tonight she realized how much she had missed that small moment with them.

Alone in the dim light of the lamp beside her, Lucy listened peacefully to the sound of her ship. From where she lay, she could hear Merryn’s light snoring a few feet away from her, the soothing sound of the waves crashing on the shore escaping from the speakers. She felt the images from everyone’s vivid dreams tugging at her mind.

Lucy opened her eyes, tilting her head to the door as she felt Cosmo’s presence even before the stomping of his feet could be heard in the stairway. And by the sounds of it, she could tell that her engineer wasn’t in a good mood.

“What is it, big boy?” she asked as he stepped in the room, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

An exhausted sigh escaped his lips and his arms fell to his sides.

“Come on,” she added, patting the empty space beside her. “Come and tell everything to your dear old Cap’!”

Cosmo scoffed at her joking tone but came closer anyway and collapsed on her lap. Lucy startled, not expecting such a behavior from him, but didn’t say anything, waiting for him to explain what the reason behind his troubled eyes was. With the shadow of the night and the weak light coming from the lamp, the color of his irises reminded her of the color of the ocean when a storm was rising on the horizon.

“So,” she started softly, taking his hair away from his vision. “Are you going to explain to me what is going on in that head of yours or do I have to figure it out myself?”

 _“I don’t know,”_ he teased back. _“Aren’t you the one with mind reading abilities?”_

Lucy was glad her power allowed Cosmo to express himself freely but he had the unfortunate habit of always using it to tease her instead of communicating with her.

“Cosmo… you know I hate doing this. If you don’t want to talk about it, I’m not going to dig into your thoughts.”

_“Princess doesn’t want to get her hands dirty, huh?”_

_Stop acting like a child and answer me you little jerk,_ she grumbled internally, forgetting that Cosmo would hear it.

_“I heard that you know?”_

“Get that knowing smile off your face Mister Prince or I’m gonna hit you.”

_“You wouldn’t dare.”_

“Oh yeah?”

_“Yes. What about the values you’re trying to teach to your children?”_

“They’re sleeping, they wouldn’t know.”

_“I am terribly shocked by that. Is it really how you teach the younger generations?”_

His fake outraged tone obtained a scoff from her.

_“My dear old Cap’, you’re insufferable.”_

“I can fully return that compliment to you, my dear,” she replied as her grin spread across her lips. Five years spent at his and Jijii’s side had been enough for her to get better at that game. She wouldn’t fall for his tease anymore. Especially when she knew it was just another trick to escape the real subject of the conversation.

But she remained silent, waiting for him to take the first step. Surely he knew that she wouldn’t give up and would stay like this until he decided to talk.

She could stay there all night long if it was necessary.

She shifted on the sofa and settled herself better among her different pillows, bringing back the plaid over her shoulders, and she heard loud and clear in her head Cosmo’s cursing about her stubbornness. It only made her smile even more.

She knew he had given up.

Not that it was a game in the first place but… Lucy loved winning.

Lucy’s grin disappeared as soon as she felt the dark cloud of Cosmo’s thought coming back to her. She didn’t want him to think she was making fun of him. Quite the contrary, she wanted to do her best and chase those troubles away.

_“It’s just… It’s just those stupid calculations and stupid aliens and their stupid wishes! Do they know that I can’t make everything up?”_

So that was the thing bothering him and stirring such trouble in his usual calm brain. Stupid space bitches strike again. She knew exactly who Cosmo was talking about and could recall perfectly the meeting when she’d been stuck with them for five hours straight. If that weird bear of a woman and her fellow green-furred friend had said one more word she’d have lash out. Aeris supportive presence behind her and Kolivan’s twitching eyebrows had been the only things keeping her grounded.

Lucy didn’t like losing and if turning this into a battle of will between her and the Dad of Marmora was the way to get through that reunion, then no one could stop her. Those two annoying persons were sadly really important in the Alliance and provided important data and necessities. Lucy remembered wondering how many people had a death wish against them.

They were both definitely on Cosmo’s top five right now, that she could tell. The young man was still groaning about their demands in her head. Asking him to create weapons and be always more and more efficient and faster.

Maybe she should have a word or two with the two representatives. She could bear listening to their whining for hours upon hours but she wouldn’t allow them to threaten Cosmo’s health.

 _“I’m not a wizard nor am I their grocery store,”_ he grumbled once more.

“True. Though,” she trailed. “I’m sure you’d look nice in Hogwarts’ robes.”

“ _Whatever_.”

“You’re a wizard, Cosmo.”

_“Sure, Hagrid.”_

“Hagrid is awesome and I’m taking no offense in that. Plus,” she preached, holding her fingers in the hair and counting down her arguments as if to prove a point. “He loves dragons, hatched one and Merryn would make a great version of Fang!”

_Boom. Take that! Three powerful arguments. Fight me on this._

Cosmo’s laughter echoed in her brain. _“There’s only you to think such things.”_

“I know,” she smirked. “I’m the best. Do you think I should practice my wig skills? I’m sure I would nail that black beard of his.”

This time, horror dropped in Cosmo’s brain and she burst out laughing at the sight of his visions. Livid features had replaced his frown.

“Would it be _that_ bad?”

“ _Terrifying_.”

The shudder in his tone did nothing to stop her amusement.

_“Why don’t you pick Hermione like everyone else?”_

“Because I’m _not_ everyone else. But you can dress up as her if you want,” she teased, tears in her eyes. “No judgment here.”

 _“What?!”_ A deep crimson blush spread on his cheeks and Lucy’s laughed even harder - thankful that she had put her cup away earlier or she would have spilled it all over.

“Your face Cosmo, you should see your face! It’s priceless.”

Lucy’s stomach hurt and tears were blurring her vision but she relished the feeling. It was the best thing in the world and she hadn’t laughed like that in a while. Lucy wasn’t sure Cosmo would appreciate the fact that she was laughing at his expense, but she couldn’t care less. She had missed it.

She breathed, trying to get back the control of herself. A very hard thing to do - especially when shock lingered in Cosmo’s eyes and that his mouth remained agape.

 _“Stop laughing,”_ he grumbled in her mind, rising from his place on her legs. She was surprised he had managed to remain there until now.

“Stop pouting and I will then.”

_“I’m not!”_

“And I’m not laughing at you either. Great minds think alike.” Lucy shoved away the tears from her eyes and looked at Cosmo. His frown was definitely gone now.

_High five, Hagrid. We did a good job!_

Cosmo huffed. _“Aren’t you supposed to be a good comforting captain right now? You are not supposed to make fun of me.”_

“I’m not.”

_“Yes, you are.”_

“Sorry.”

_“You aren’t.”_

“How would you know?” Lucy smiled, trying her best to ignore the laughter that was bubbling in her throat once more. How could Cosmo not realize his pout?

_“I just… know.”_

“Oh yeah?”

“ _Yup_.” Cosmo settled himself once more on the sofa, grabbing an edge of the fluffy blanket for himself too. She quickly conjured another plaid to cover the rest of his legs.

“I should spare myself the trouble of reading minds then, if you’re so good at it.”

She didn’t need to see his grin to know it was on his face; it was all over her mind. Cosmo’s mind was too close for her power to numb her abilities and she could feel his emotions as if they were hers.

Unsettling at first, she had grown accustomed to the feeling over the years. Nostalgia started to wash over her and she turned her gaze back to him. With his eyes closed, his hair was ruling over his forehead all over again.

_Just like I thought._

“Say Cosmo, don’t you think it’s time for you to put some order in those rebel strands? I could ask Hazel to make a detour to Jane’s town. She did a great job last time.”

“ _Nah_ ,” he retorted as she kept combing his hair lazily. _“Besides you’re better than any other hairdresser. You know exactly what I have in mind.”_

“Oh so you recognize that I’m a better mind reader than you are, then!”

_“I didn’t say that.”_

“However, you know I don’t trust myself with a pair of scissors anymore.”

“ _Why? It wasn’t a problem before_ -” Cosmo’s train of thought stopped mid-sentence and she knew the same memory was hitting his mind. “ _Oh_.”

Not only did she knew it but she was actually _seeing_ it in his mind. Which only made things worse. She felt the blush spread on her cheeks as she witnessed the scene all over again. There was a good reason why she didn’t drink anymore.

“Cosmo, stop it! Stop remembering it!” she yelled, covering her face with her hands. “I’m so ashamed.”

 _“You were drunk,”_ his voice trailed in her mind. That bastard had no intention of stopping and she could hear him humming Mulan’s soundtrack in the back of his head. “ _It’s fine.”_

“Definitely not.” Thanks to her beloved engineer right here she could now recall the scene perfectly and she hated him for that. She had made a good deal of locking that memory away in her mind. She didn’t remember exactly when the scene had occurred but Sammy was too young to remember it - bless his soul - and they hadn’t joined their force with Kolivan just yet. Four years ago maybe.

The crew had been enjoying the night sky above their head and the fire crackled next to them. A light breeze tickled the skin of their arms while they all laughed at each other joke. They had just attacked a Galran base a few hours ago and had managed to get their hands on their booze. Lucy learned that night that Galran alcohol was much stronger than what she could handle.

One playlist and a couple of drinks later, she had nearly found herself cutting off her braid, claiming to be just as strong as Mulan was. Tori and Natsilane had snatched away the scissors from her hands before it was too late. Merryn and Jijii had dragged her back to bed and the next day, Lucy had sworn from the bottom of her bed that she would never touch a drop of alcohol anymore.

That and scissors.

And Cosmo knew it.

And had used her powers against her. Once again.

_Damn it._

_“Why were you here anyway? Weren’t you supposed to have a meeting with Kolivan?”_

It wasn’t like Cosmo to reach out a hand but Lucy was definitely not going to miss the occasion to change the topic of the conversation.

“I was supposed to, yeah, but it got canceled.”

“ _Why?_ ” Worry spread once more in his brain.

“Nothing to be concerned about though, I assure you. I think it’s more of a technical problem. It was reported to tomorrow.”

_“Oh. Good. Very good. We’ve got enough of bad news already.”_

“Yes, those are worries for another day. And so as it was canceled and I had some spare time, I went to see the children and read them a story. Even after all this time, they were still waiting for that next chapter of _Lady Grace Mysteries_. Can you believe that?”

Lucy smiled at the thought - she seriously couldn’t stop loving them and they would never cease to impress her. Her scarlet boys and girls were too adorable for her own good. And to know that they had waited so long for the next part of the story - even when she knew how much impatient and curious they all were - only for her to be the one to read it… It left a warm feeling in her chest.

“Talking about next chapters, do you want me to read another chapter of _The Maze Runner_ ? Or I could reread _Steel Scars_ too.”

 _“You never get tired of that one,”_ Cosmo teased. _“_ Steel Scars _or a new book, Lucy Fair’s eternal dilemma.”_

“I’ll never get tired of it! Farley and Shade are awesome and I love them and I will forever hold him in my heart because he didn’t deserve to die and- my heart Cosmo!” she sniffed, a hand on her chest. “My heart still grieves! He was my baby and… poof. Gone.”

_“Yeah, I know. Rude.”_

“It was a freaking coincidence! A stupid, cruel, and unfair coincidence and Ptolemus I hate you! You and your stupid daggers!”

_“But Mare would be dead otherwise.”_

“But still! He didn’t deserve to die like that… Didn’t deserve to die at all. I was so sad…”

 _“I know. You were crying so hard the whole ship thought something serious had happened.”_ Cosmo laughed.

“Excuse you!” Lucy protested. “How dare you?! It’s a very serious matter.”

_“I even had a hard time calming Sammy down because he wouldn’t believe you were all right!”_

“Because I _wasn’t_! Mare couldn’t even retrieve his body and it was so heartbreaking and-”

Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. She had had that conversation with Cosmo countless time in the past and her words had escaped her lips without much thinking. Her own memories suddenly blended with the chapter’s words she knew by heart:

_« Shade appears in front of me, intending to take me away from all this. Instead, he gets a cruel, gleaming needle through his heart. He doesn’t realize what’s happening. He doesn’t feel any pain. He dies before his knees hit the ground. »_

Deandra’s smile came back haunting her thoughts and tears gleamed once more at the corner of her eyes. Had it really been that painless for Deandra? The fear Lucy had felt that day in Deandra’s mind would haunt her forever.

Cosmo must have felt her disarray because his fingers suddenly wrapped themselves against hers. Tightening his grip he stared back at her, worry in his green irises all over again.

_Nope. I’m having none of that. Not tonight._

“So,” she proposed once again, drying her tears. “Do you want me to pick up a book? They’re in my room but I can go there quickly and, with Merryn’s help, I’ll be as fast as a shooting star!”

She winked at Merryn who, still bathing in her shadowy corner, had lifted her head from her paws. With her ears perked up, the hound was looking at her as if to say, “Huh? Mama? You called me?”

Lucy scoffed at her own silliness. Maybe she needed sleep after all. What was even the time right now? It always flew when she talked with someone and, when she thought of it, maybe it had been an hour or two already since Cosmo had stepped into the room. Her cup was no longer steaming hot - if that was any kind of clue.

“ _No_ !” Cosmo refused. _“Don’t move. I’m good here.”_

Sleepiness was gnawing his words and his thoughts suddenly appeared blurrier in his head. Sleep was catching up with him too.

“You know you shouldn’t fall asleep here,” she warned. “You’ll get lumbago.”

_“Don’t care. Like you said, those are worries for another day.”_

“Stop quoting me,” she tsked, putting her braid away as Cosmo’s head dropped on her shoulder. She played with his hair once more - it was stronger than her, she couldn’t help herself - and kissed his forehead. “Good night Cosmo, may all your worries disappear from your sight.”

Before she could stop herself, notes of an old lullaby from her childhood escaped the closed barriers of her lips. Her hums finally drifted the both of them to sleep.

Tonight, the nightmares wouldn’t wake them up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 1! Part2 already available! 
> 
> (this was a request from Lucy on tumblr, so if you ever find a prompt you'd like me to read whether for VLD or the SK OCs let me know i'll be happy to oblige if it inspires me <3)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the same scene seen through cosmo's eyes (i had a lot of fun writing it)

Cosmo wanted to shout. And scream. And throw stuff. And do whatever that would erase his annoyance and frustration. Cosmo resisted the urge to tear apart the room. If only he could scream, anything.

He hated days like this when nothing would happen the way he wanted. When his experiments didn’t go the way he wanted, when his projects fell apart at the last minute and especially when two freaking stupid annoying bitches were on his back all the fucking time! 

_ URGH! _

Those two insufferable representatives always found a way to annoy him even more than before. They should get an award for that. Or he should get one for that matter. A shining award with ‘congrats Cosmo for not crushing those two ladies just yet’ plastered on it in shining letters. Yeah. A good idea. A great idea, even. 

Cosmo realised where he was going when his foot slipped and he nearly fell at the bottom of the stairs. He hadn’t paid attention to where his footsteps were leading him. He just wanted to get out of his lab and out of that bloody video conference room.

_ Stupid representatives. _

But was that really surprising that they had led him there? He was angry, annoyed and could definitely not set his mind to rest right now. And he always came here when such things happened, to the small room at the other side of the corridors, with its big window to observe the galaxies. Useful during battles, Lucy’s reading room in peaceful times. 

When he couldn’t sleep because of his nightmares he would always come down there. There was something about this room that felt safer than any other part of the vessel. He couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t cozier than any other room, there were much more decorated places aboard. Aside from the big patio-door-like window, its grey carpet that tickled your feet when you walked barefoot on it and the sofa and its old blue colors, there was nothing in this room. Except for Lucy’s stash of empty mugs when she closed herself inside to study battle plans or when she needed time for herself. 

Whenever he came down here in those rough nights, she would know. If she wasn’t in the room before he arrived, she would be there in less than five minutes. He’d often felt guilty about it, knowing that his nightmares had woken her up. With her abilities, who knew how many peaceful nights she could get? When it wasn’t her own troubled mind bothering her, it was one of the three hundred and two others that occupied the ship. 

But it was useless for him to come tonight - Lucy wasn’t there. She had an appointment with Kolivan and other Coalition members to set up the big battle that was coming. She was probably trying to keep her temper at bay in front of just as annoying representatives, or teasing Kolivan and making him laugh. Because that’s what she always did when tension was building up inside of her.  _ Fake it ‘till you make it _ had taken too much importance into their lives for his own liking.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. When was it all going to end? When would they gain their restful nights? It was all he was asking for. Peace. Peace and rest. No more nightmares, no more screams and no more tears. 

Lucy wasn’t supposed to be there, and yet when he opened the door, two big chocolate eyes he knew too well stared back at him, intrigued. She had probably heard him coming and he wondered what had given him away first. His angry thoughts or his stomping feets? Which one had she heard first?

Not that it mattered anyways because she had that look on her face again. The ‘what is going on and is everything alright and do you want to talk about it’ look. 

“What is it, big boy?” she asked as he stepped further into the room. A teasing and joking glint had replaced the surprise in her eyes. She was in a good mood.

Good. That made one of them at least. 

He was just so tired… 

His shoulders dropped and a deep exhausted sigh escaped his lips. 

“Come on,” she added, patting the empty space beside her. “Come and say everything to your dear, old Cap’!” 

Cosmo scoffed. Another power she possessed. She could make everyone feel better in the split of a second and even the mighty Kolivan was no exception. Cosmo had noticed over the years how he had grown to be protective over her. Cosmo could swear that he had once seen him smile because of a joke she had made. 

He came toward the sofa and let himself drop on the cushions - still making sure not to crush Lucy under his weight. He slid down and settled on her lap and closed his eyes. The sounds of the waves were already working their magic and he relaxed, feeling Lucy’s fingers combing his hair in rhythm with the sea. 

It felt good and he felt at peace. If he wanted, he could fall asleep right there, right now, all worries forgotten - but that was without counting Lucy’s will to know what was going on with him. Of course she wouldn’t let go after she’d seen him in such an annoyed state.  

“So, are you going to explain to me what is going on in that head of yours or do I have to figure it out myself?” 

_ “I don’t know,” _ he teased back, thinking about the words in his head he knew she’d hear.  _ “Aren’t you the one with mind reading abilities?”  _

That was the real beauty of her power. It made conversation so much easier.

Or he could try and escape the real subject just as much. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He just wanted to relax and think of something else. 

“Cosmo…” 

Damn it. She was using her captain inquiring tone. He was in deep shit and he was going to lose this battle. She was going to point out that he was wrong to think that and that she would wait anyway. Wait until his determination crumbled under hers. Behind the angel looks and the innocent-looking freckles, hid a fierce character.

“You know I hate doing this. If you don’t want to talk about it, I’m not going to dig into your thoughts.” 

Of course she wouldn’t. Cosmo had never doubted that. She wasn’t like that. Never. Cosmo needed a diversion and his comebacks had always done the trick until now. 

_ “Princess doesn’t want to get her hands dirty, huh?”  _

_ Stop acting like a child and answer me you little jerk, _ she grumbled. 

Until now, Lucy had spoken aloud and he hadn’t expected to hear her voice in his head. Maybe he had a chance to win after all. If he could keep her distracted from his thoughts. Hard task but Cosmo wasn’t one to turn back in front of challenges.

_ “I heard that you know?”  _

“Get that knowing smile off of your face Mister Prince or I’m gonna hit you.” 

Cosmo startled. He definitely hadn’t expected her to use one of his nicknames against him. Since when had she become so good at dodging his tease? He would need to step up his game if he didn’t want his student to surpass him. 

_ “You wouldn’t dare.”  _

Violence had never been Lucy’s cup of tea. Surely she hadn’t change that much while he wasn’t looking, right? 

“Oh yeah?” 

The glint in her eyes almost made him gulp. 

_ “Yes. What about the values you’re trying to teach to your children?”  _

Yeah, huh? What would Sammy and Little Tara think of their idolized captain if he came to them with a bloody nose? 

“They’re sleeping, they wouldn’t know.” 

Who are you and what have you done to my Lucy! 

_ “I am terribly shocked by that. Is it really how you teach the younger generations?”  _ She scoffed at his faked outraged tone. _ “My dear old Cap’ you’re insufferable.”  _

“I can fully return that compliment to you, my dear,” she teased back. She had definitely gotten better at all this. Cosmo knew he was losing.

In those five years he had came to understand that her will was as strong as her so called stone heart. Unbreakable, and definitely stronger than his. And seeing how she had settled down her shoulders on the cushions and how her gaze had drifted back to the far away stars, he knew her stubborn ass wasn’t going anywhere and that she was determined to stay there all night long if necessary. Scarlet could be as stubborn as hell when she wanted.

A proud smirk spread across her lips. Of course she had heard that. And of course she was hella proud of it. 

Cosmo gave up.

_ “It’s just… It’s just those stupid calculations and stupid aliens and their stupid wishes! Do they know that I can’t make everything up? _ !” 

For two weeks straight they had been on his back, always asking more and more of him. He was fed up and tired of their requirements, didn’t they have their own engineers? He knew he was the best, but still.

_ “I’m not a wizard nor am I their grocery store!” _ he grumbled in her mind, annoyed all over again. 

“True.” Lucy answered, her hands on his shoulders and easing the tension that had been building there, but Cosmo knew from the new glint in her eyes that she wasn’t done yet. Even if she had been shouting at the two bitches on his behalf in her mind, her joking tone was back when she spoke again. 

“However, I’m sure you’d look nice in Hogwarts’ robes.”

“ _ Whatever _ ,” he scoffed. Lucy was yet again trying to ease his mind. Now that she knew what was really happening with him, she probably knew that it wasn’t such a serious matter and that just joking around with him would do the trick. But what did she expect? Of course he’d look great! 

“You’re a wizard, Cosmo.” She joked, imitating the voice of their favorite Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. 

Cosmo smiled,  _ “Sure, Hagrid.”  _

“Hagrid is awesome and I’m taking no offense in that. Plus,” she preached, holding her fingers in the hair and counting down her arguments as if to prove a point. “He loves dragons, hatched one and Merryn would make a great version of Fang!” 

He laughed, there truly was only her to think such things.

“I know,” she smirked at him. “I’m the best.” 

There it was. A shining smile, laughter in her eyes, her face always brightened when she smirked like that. And whenever she was like this, Cosmo couldn’t help but smile too.

“Do you think I should practice my wig skills? I’m sure I would nail that black beard of his.” 

His smile dropped at the bottom of his shoes and horror overwhelmed him at the thought. Lucy with bushy black beard and hair? No thanks! 

She must have felt his state because she suddenly burst out laughing. Cosmo was pretty sure he was livid now. How could she even  _ consider  _ the idea?!

“Would it be  _ that  _ bad?” 

“ _ Terrifying _ .” There was nothing to hide the shudder in his tone.  _ “Why don’t you pick Hermione like everyone else?” _

“Because I’m  _ not  _ everyone else. But you can dress up as her if you want, no judgment here.” 

Cosmo nearly choked, rising from his place on her lap to look back at her.  _ “What?!”  _

As for Lucy she was dying of laughter in front of him. “Your face Cosmo, you should see your face! It’s priceless.” 

_ “Stop laughing,” _ he grumbled in her mind.  

“Stop pouting and I will then.” 

_ “I’m not!”  _

“And I’m not laughing at you either. Great minds think alike.”  

Cosmo growled and sat back on her, crossing his arms over his chest. She had gotten  _ way  _ better at this than he had first thought.  _ “Aren’t you supposed to be a good, comforting captain right now? You are not supposed to make fun of me.”  _

“I’m not.” 

_ “Yes, you are.”  _

“Sorry.” 

_ “You aren’t.”  _

“How would you know?”  

_ “I just… know.”  _

“Oh yeah?” 

“ _ Yup _ .” 

Cosmo shifted on the sofa, satisfied by his poor arguments and heard her scoffed as he grabbed the other edge of her blanket to cover himself too. The fabric was so soft under his fingers and he recognized it as one of those plaid that just gave you the want to roll yourself into it and stay there for the rest of your life. 

Those two space bitches surely wouldn’t need a blanket burrito to build more weapons and they’d leave him alone.

Cosmo was taller than Lucy and his asparagus of legs, as she liked to call them, didn’t fit in her small blue sofa. But as always, he managed to find a comfortable position. A new blanket dropped on his bare feet on the other side of the sofa. 

_ What a mom friend. _

“I should spare myself the trouble of reading minds then, if you’re so good at it.” 

Cosmo remained silent, not wanting to give her another chance to win another set. He wasn’t having any more of it tonight. 

Lucy’s breathing came back to normal and the tears at the corner of his eyes were gone. She had probably shoved them away while he was looking away - he had definitely not been pouting, damn it!

He closed his eyes, enjoying once more the soothing calm of the room. Lucy was once more playing with his hair and he had to admit he loved it. Her fingers running through his hair was like a massage and he had to keep himself from whining like a child when she stopped.

“Say, Cosmo, don’t you think it’s time for you to put some order in those rebel strands? I could ask Hazel to make a detour to Jane’s town. She did a great job last time.” 

It had been a while indeed since he had last cut his hair, but he didn’t mind it. He liked them that way and, in the late nights they spent there together, he would often find Lucy playing with them and trying to braid his strands as they slipped from her fingers. 

Maybe it was one of the reason why he liked them that way. Getting to see her concentrated look as she was focused on his rebel and thinner strands and the way she would grumble when they unexpectedly slipped from her fingers one more time.

Maybe.

But he wasn’t about to admit that to her face.

And before she could wonder anything more and reach further in his mind to get the answer she was waiting for, he added: “ _ Nah. Besides you’re better than any other hairdresser. You know exactly what I have in mind.”  _

“Oh so you recognize that I’m a better mind reader than you are then!”

_ “I didn’t say that.”  _

“However, you know I don’t trust myself with a pair of scissors anymore.” 

_ “Why? It wasn’t a problem before.”  _

It suddenly hit him. 

“ _ Oh _ .”

Flashes of a certain night under the stars a few years ago involving a very drunk Lucy came back to him. 

The effect was immediate on his captain. 

“Cosmo, stop it,” she yelled, covering her face with her hands - but it did nothing to hide to him the deep, crimson, blush that was now covering her face. “Stop remembering it!” 

It was his time to have fun now. 

“I’m so ashamed!”  

A mischievous grin spread across his lips. He knew that she could hear Mulan’s theme song playing in the back of his head. Not playing so cocky anymore, huh? 

_ “You were drunk. It’s fine,”  _  he trailed.

“Definitely not,” she denied with her head, her hands still covering part of her words. Cosmo was satisfied and didn’t want to let her in her embarrassment for too long - how nice of him. 

_ “Why were you here anyway? Weren’t you supposed to have a meeting with Kolivan?”  _ Truly, he was being too kind with her. She deserved worse for that Hermione comment earlier. But he was back in a good mood and decided to be good. For once.

As he expected, Lucy jumped on the occasion to jump on another subject of conversation and erase that memory from both their minds.

“I was supposed to, yeah, but it got canceled.” 

_ “Why?”  _ Cosmo dreaded. This meeting had been planned for a few days already, why would it be cancelled? Only bad news could be the reasons behind such cancellation. 

She stopped his train of thoughts right away. 

“Nothing to be concerned about though, I assure you. I think it’s more of a technical problem. It was reported to tomorrow.” 

_ “Oh. Good. Very good. We’ve got enough of bad news already.”  _

“Yes, those are worries for another day. And so as it was canceled and I had some spare time, I went to see the children and read them a story. Even after all this time, they were still waiting for that next chapter of  _ Lady Grace Mysteries _ . Can you believe that?” 

Oh, so this is what she had been doing! It was true that it had been a while since she had been able to grant them time. And Cosmo knew how much they loved her reading sessions. Surely just as much as he loved his. 

“Talking about next chapters, do you want me to read another chapter of  _ The Maze Runner _ ? Or I could reread  _ Steel Scars _ too.” 

_ “You never get tired of that one,”  _ Cosmo teased.  _ “ _ Steel Scars _ or a new book, Lucy Fair’s eternal dilemma.” _

Cosmo didn’t know how many times she had read it. Even if it was only a novella from one of the series she had read to him, it had become one of her favorite books. She held that short story dear in her booknerd of a heart. Even if she called herself a stone heart, Cosmo knew better than anyone that behind that poker face of hers, she was a real softie when it came to certain characters.

“I’ll never get tired of it!” she claimed suddenly, “Farley and Shade are awesome and I love them and I will forever hold him in my heart because he didn’t deserve to die and- my heart Cosmo!” she sniffed, a hand on her chest. “My heart still grieves! He was my baby and… poof. Gone.” 

_ “Yeah, I know. Rude.”  _

_ Stone heart. Yeah right!  _

Victoria Aveyard and Shade Barrow had definitely managed to break through her defences. Cosmo’s grin softened. He loved when she got into her rant. It reminded him of old times when they didn’t had the weight of this raging war on their shoulders. Hearing her get so passionate about such a trivial thing reassured him. Somehow, even with all the chaos around them, Lucy still managed to stay true to herself. 

He knew that if he closed his eyes, the room would disappear from his thought and he’d find himself in the big house Sammy had drawn so many times for them. A big house where they would all live once everything was over, as if nothing had ever happened. 

If he closed his eyes, he knew he could convince his brain that the water he heard crashing onto the sand was real, and not a record playing on repeat. 

If he closed his eyes, he could picture it vividly. The nearby sea, nearly licking at his feet and leaving ripple marks all over the shore… 

A beautiful dream.

A beautiful dream Cosmo would do anything to make come true.

“It was a freaking coincidence!” Lucy’s outburst got him out of his thoughts and he focused back on her words. “A stupid, cruel, and unfair coincidence and Ptolemus I hate you! You and your stupid daggers!” 

_ “But Mare would be dead otherwise.”  _

“But still! He didn’t deserve to die like that… Didn’t deserve to die at all. I was so sad…” 

_ “I know,”  _ Cosmo laughed.  _ “You were crying so hard the whole ship thought something serious had happened.”  _

“Excuse you!” Lucy protested. “How dare you?! It’s a very serious matter.” 

_ “I even had a hard time calming Sammy down because he wouldn’t believe you were all right!”  _ The little boy had been inconsolable and Cosmo could still recall barging into her room with Jijii at his side and baby Sammy in his arms. A very teary memory.

“Because I  _ wasn’t _ ! Mare couldn’t even retrieve his body and it was so heartbreaking and-” 

Lucy hiccuped and her words died on her lips. Cosmo looked back at her and his smile dropped at the horror that displayed on her face. And when Cosmo realized the link her brain had made he grabbed her hands into his own, squeezing it tight between his fingers. 

He knew it was hard. The wound was still fresh in his mind too, but they all needed to stop blaming themselves for what happened. Aria had told him enough times that torturing their brain wouldn’t change the past and would only hold them back. They needed to move on and avenge Deandra, for sure. But thinking about it like that, over and over again, would only lead to their own downfall.

He gripped her hand, trying to bring her back in their own world - like she always did when he got lost in his own visions. She startled and looked back at him. Her eyes focused back and he felt relieved when she started talking again, drying her tears with a swift movement of her wrists.

“So, do you want me to pick up a book?” she proposed again. “They’re in my room but I can go there quickly and, with Merryn’s help, I’ll be as fast as a shooting star!” 

Cosmo eyed at the corner of the room. He hadn’t even noticed Merryn’s presence. It was as she had melt with the darkness of her corner and only two red irises looked back at him. Cosmo was glad Fire Pup was on their side because he didn’t want to think of what it was like to face her on the battlefield. 

As much as he loved when Lucy read him her novels, he was too good where he was and didn’t want to move anymore. He wanted to stay there forever and start his new career as a blanket burrito. And Lucy would become her associate, even against her will. 

“You know you shouldn’t fall asleep here,” she warned. “You’ll get lumbago.” 

_ “Don’t care. Like you said, those are worries for another day.”  _

“Stop quoting me,” Lucy tsked as his head dropped on her shoulder. 

He didn’t know how long had passed since he had stepped into the room but his head suddenly felt heavy and he felt his thoughts growing blurrier and blurrier. He couldn’t even keep his eyes opened anymore. He decided to stop fighting against it and he fell asleep to the sound of Lucy’s singing voice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLA. TO. NIC ;)
> 
> (just reminder that it's set in SK timeline so it's "canon" and that's how those behave when they're together and when i mention their reading nights in SK? This is what i refer too. aren't they cute? <3)
> 
> And here's the song I imagined Lucy singing at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5P2-9YY7qU

**Author's Note:**

> "It was awesome and cute and quit it with the platonic shit I only saw one pining boy and an oblivious-about-to-be-pining-too girl" ~Jijii, 21st April 2018


End file.
